Stormwater Partners Network

Here is a posting from the Chesapeake Bay Trust site:

Deadline: September 25, 2010

The Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Department of the Environment are partnering with the United States Environmental Protection Agency for a special funding opportunity for green streets and other urban green infrastructure projects.  This partnership is soliciting proposals for urban green infrastructure-driven technical planning and design assistance associated with watershed restoration projects.  The highest quality projects will be part of an overall integrated community or watershed plan with the aims to improve local and Bay water quality in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays whilecreating green jobs in urban areas. 

Local governments and non-profit organizations in urbanized watersheds located in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland and the Anacostia Watershed within Washington, D.C. are invited to submit requests for consideration. Those interested in projects within the Atlantic Coastal Bays watershed should consider the regular Watershed Assistance Grant Program RFP issued separately

For the full Request for Proposals and detail for this special opportunity, please click here. 

This week’s Montgomery Gazette has an article on the work of Stormwater Partners Steve Dryden and Diane Cameron to double the fine for sediment control violations in Montgomery County.  The current $500 fine doesn’t seem to be enough incentive for some businesses to prevent sediment from running off construction sites and into Montgomery County streams. 

The article quotes Steve Dryden: “I hope it will send more of a message. Obviously some big companies don’t care. They just factor it into the cost of business.”

Actually, this is an entry for the Build a Better Burb contest in New York to envision a retrofitting of suburban Long Island, Long Island Radically Rezoned.  In the conception of architect Tobias Holler and his team, 50% of the land is designated as open space, 8% as high density agriculture, 35.4% as suburban fabric, and 6.6% as downtown areas.  The forested areas have a high degree of connectivity.

LIRR Long Island Radically Rezoned from LIRR on Vimeo.

Here is a case study of poor erosion and sediment control in Montgomery County.  The site is Leesborough (Centex construction), the former Good Counsel site (bordered by Georgia Ave., Amherst Ave., Arcola Ave. and Elkin St.) in Wheaton, Maryland.  The result was sediment laden runoff from the construction site.  The photos below are from May 25, 2009 (after many similar overflows for months).

 Uncontrolled erosion on-site above basin

Flow from containment basin, across sidewalk,
into Amherst Ave

Flow into street leading to storm drain at Amherst and Elkin

The headwaters of Sligo Creek at Channing and Blueridge Ave. — the sediment laden runoff from the Leesborough/Centex site merging with the clear runoff from neighborhood streets.

Sligo Creek about half a mile down stream showing the sediment laden flow from the construction site.

A full report about the incident can be found here on the Friends of Sligo Creek web site.

Dear Stormwater Partners,

The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Expedited Bill 40-10 around noon today!  As you know, this is the bill that amends our stormwater code to require that Environmental Site Design become the new norm in how projects are designed and built.

In this revised ordinance, Montgomery County kept its strong stormwater volume standards - requiring redevelopment as well as new development projects to address both the first one inch of each storm as well as the “Channel Protection Volume” (equivalent to the largest storm that typically occurs once per year, 2.6″ of rain in 24 hours). 

Through a concerted team effort that included “sweating the details” through legislative and administrative lobbying (beginning in Montgomery County more than a year ago on this ordinance), along with end-stage negotiations, we were able to win agreement from all stakeholders to eliminate the two worst waiver provisions that were in an earlier draft of the bill (in one case through deletion, in the other, through a revision).

Many thanks to:  Ginny Barnes, Brent Bolin, Bruce Gilmore, and Dana Minerva who each brought in persuasive powers, policy wisdom, and effective communications exactly when they were needed.  In addition, Anacostia Riverkeeper Dottie Yunger made phone calls and sent emails in support of the changes we needed to the bill, Steve Dryden testified, attended Council sessions and the negotiation, and Anne Ambler gave excellent testimony on July 13.  Many other Stormwater Partners stayed up on the issues and wrote their own letters of support.

DEP Director Hoyt and DPS Water Manager Rick Brush were also helpful throughout this process, as were the members of the Council’s T&E  Committee.  They deserve our thanks, and I will be thanking them directly.

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